Director: Director Pedro Almodovar uses
creative camera angles to
maintain a mood. While not
entirely focused, the message
of this movie is to remind
people that a child desires to
learn about his or her
biological parents, despite
who they are. The
disappointing part of this
movie is the acceptance of the
sexual perversions portrayed.
Esteban's father has become a
transvestite. The man has had
an affair with Rosa, a nun who
contracts the AIDS virus from
him. The consequences of these
behaviors are shown to end
with death, but the sexual
immorality is accepted
throughout the movie. There
isn't enough substance in this
movie to make it worth seeing.

Summary:

A tragic tale of love and death, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER leaves some questions unanswered. Manuela lies and tells her son Esteban that his father is dead, but when she wants to tell him the truth it is too late. Director Pedro Almodovar uses creative camera angles, but sexual immorality and obscenities contribute to an insubstantial movie.

Review:

A tragic tale of love and death, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER leaves some questions unanswered involving its mysteries. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) lives alone with her teenage son Esteban (Eloy Azorin). Very close to his mother, Esteban is writing a story about his mother entitled, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER. For Esteban's seventeenth birthday, Manuela takes him to the play A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Afterward, Esteban desperately wants an autograph from the lead actress, Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes). As they wait outside the theater in the rain, Esteban shares with his mother that what he really wanted to ask for his birthday was to know about his father. All Manuela had ever told him before was that he died before Esteban was born. As Huma and another actress exit the theater and rush into a taxicab, Esteban runs after them and is suddenly struck by a car and killed. Overcome with sorrow, Manuela sets out to find Esteban's father in Barcelona to tell him about their son. There, she encounters her past and finds new meaning for her future. Director Pedro Almodovar has won many awards, including an Honorary Cesar by the French Academy for his entire career, usually involving sordid tales of illicit sex. In ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, Almodovar uses creative camera angles to set and maintain a certain mood. Cecilia Roth gives a solid performance in her role as Manuela. One of Argentina's leading actresses, Roth won the Best Actress Goya Award in Spain in 1997. While not entirely focused, the message of this movie is to remind people that a child desires to learn about his or her biological parents, despite who they are. In this movie, Manuela had always told Esteban that his father died before he was born and was evasive about the details. She lied. When she learns how important it is to Esteban, she decides to tell him, but it's too late. The disappointing part of this movie is the acceptance of all the characters of the sexual perversions portrayed. Esteban's father has become a transvestite and is now called Lola. The movie also reveals that Lola has had an affair with Rosa, a nun who contracts the AIDS virus from him. The consequences of these behaviors are shown to end with death, but the sexual immorality is accepted throughout the movie. There isn't enough substance in this movie to make it worth seeing.

In Brief:

In ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, a woman named Manuela lives alone with her teenage son Esteban. Very close to his mother, Esteban shares with her that what he really wanted to ask for his birthday was to know about his father. All Manuela had ever told him was that he died before Esteban was born. However, Esteban is struck by a car and killed. Overcome with sorrow, Manuela sets out to find Esteban's father in Barcelona to tell him about their son.

Director Pedro Almodovar uses creative camera angles to maintain a mood. While not entirely focused, the message of this movie is to remind people that a child desires to learn about his or her biological parents, despite who they are. The disappointing part of this movie is the acceptance of the sexual perversions portrayed. Esteban's father has become a transvestite. The man has had an affair with Rosa, a nun who contracts the AIDS virus from him. The consequences of these behaviors are shown to end with death, but the sexual immorality is accepted throughout the movie. There isn't enough substance in this movie to make it worth seeing